


Let colors bleed, for a soul to see

by IvorySoda



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst with a Happy Ending, Felix Hugo Fraldarius Is An Idiot, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Major Character Injury, Misunderstandings, Sylvain Jose Gautier Is An Idiot, That's right, rated for language, the description isn't too bad but i added the graphic warning just in case, they're both idiots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-10-26 14:34:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20743778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IvorySoda/pseuds/IvorySoda
Summary: “You?” He whispers, voice laced with uncertainty.“Me.”"Oh."  Sylvain laughs softly, andwow, his eyes feel hot."It’s been you all along.”-When one meets their soulmate, their world bursts into color.  Before that, everything is black and white.





	Let colors bleed, for a soul to see

**Author's Note:**

> Sylvain already has doubts about whether he'll ever find someone who will truly love him so... Put him in a soulmate AU and make him think he has no soulmate... Right?
> 
> It was only a matter of time before I wrote smth for these two... They have a very strong grip on my heart rn,, And I love soulmate AUs so!!
> 
> Title from Daydreamer by Bipolar Sunshine

When Sylvain is almost 3, he meets Felix for the first time.

His family is stuffed into a carriage, Sylvain in his mother’s lap, Miklan sitting next to them, and their father across. Miklan is 9, and whines for almost the entirety of the ride.

Their mother sighs as Miklan repeats the phrase “I want to go home!” for the 4th time in 10 minutes, before she finally relents and addresses him.

“Miklan, it would be rude to decline an invitation from Duke Fraldarius. It’s an honor to be able to meet their new son so soon, please quiet down,” their mother says, not even sparing the boy a glance. Sylvain bounces in her lap, excited. It’s not often he sees other kids besides his brother, even if he’s just meeting a baby.

“Can’t you go alone?” Miklan continues to complain, which earns him a stern look from their mother. The margrave pays no heed to the conversation, choosing to look out the window of the carriage instead.

“No,” she answers simply. Then, as if remembering, “Maybe you can play with Glenn while we’re there. I’m sure if he’s not with his new brother he can keep you company if you’re bored.”

“I don’t want to play with Glenn. He’s dumb and annoying.”

In response, their father casts Miklan a heavy glare. “You’d do best not to insult our hosts when we arrive, Miklan.”

For a moment, Miklan looks like he wants to continue arguing, but something in the margrave’s tone tells him not to push it. Instead, he shuts his mouth, arms crossed and a pout on his face, and looks out the window. The rest of the ride is silent. Sylvain continues to vibrate in anticipation, graced with ignorance of the tense atmosphere in the carriage.

When they arrive at the Fraldarius estate, they are welcomed by the staff and lead to the drawing room, where the duke and his wife sit. Duke Fraldarius stands to welcome the family, greeting Margrave Gautier with a polite bow, which the man returns. Sylvain is led in by his mother’s hand, Miklan following behind them, and upon entering, Sylvain notices the duke’s wife and the child she is holding. She smiles at Sylvain warmly and he tucks behind his mother’s leg, who pushes him forward.

Sylvain shuffles up to the duchess, and she adjusts her hold slightly so he could see the boy. The margrave and duke are chatting in the corner, glancing their way every so often, and Miklan does not care to see the baby, instead leaning against the wall, bored. Glenn, who had been sitting in the corner, has gotten up to greet him, but Miklan ignores him, to Glenn’s dismay.

Sylvain is watching the baby intently. He’s only sleeping in the duchess’ arms at the moment, but Sylvain gazes at him like he’s the most interesting thing in the world.

“This is Felix,” she tells him. 

“Feli-...Felix,” he repeats, albeit with some difficulty. “Hi, Felix.”

As if sensing something had changed in the room, the baby wakes, slowly. He blinks his eyes open, Sylvain watching silently.

Felix turns his head and meets Sylvain’s eyes with his own.

There's a flash in Sylvain's vision, and he shuts his eyes out of reflex. When he opens them again he flinches, and in his confusion he closes his eyes once more.

Then there's a whimper. And Felix starts bawling. And then Sylvain is crying as well. In just a few seconds, the attention of everyone in the room is on them. The duchess tries to soothe Felix while Sylvain's mother tries to calm her own son down, both women unsure of the situation. Glenn is tugging on his mother's arm worriedly while the two men in the room watch, concerned. Miklan watches, annoyance written clear on his face at the crying.

Sylvain's mother crouches down to wipe her child's tears, and asks him what's wrong. He shakes his head, still sobbing. When he opens his eyes, his cries intensify.

"Are you upset Felix is crying?" He shakes his head. "What's wrong, Sylvain?" He doesn't answer, sniffing and rubbing at his eyes frantically.

"I-I-I can't… I don't know!" He tries to explain, but the vocabulary of a three year old is too limited for his issue. The two mothers look at each other in confusion, continuing to try and settle their children down. Sylvain's mother lifts her boy into her arms, petting his hair gently, and Felix's mother rocks the baby.

Both children don't stop crying until they've completely exhausted themselves, sleeping soundly. The mothers share a concerned look.

When Sylvain wakes, he'd completely forgotten all about why he was crying.

-

"Mother!" Sylvain calls, running up to the woman, a smile beaming on his face.

She smiles back and crouches down to her son’s level. He looks like he’s hiding something in his hands, but she chooses to pretend as if she doesn’t notice, for now. "Yes? What is it?" He giggles and holds out his hands, cupped together. He opens them up, revealing multiple tiny blue flowers. "Are these for me?"

The 6 year old nods, and she holds out her hand for him to set the flowers in. "They reminded me of you," he says, smiling shyly.

"They did? How so?"

He points to his eyes, grinning. "They match with you, right here!" At that, his mother blinks.

"They match my eyes?" She clarifies, to which he nods. In realization, she lets out a small gasp, and a crease between her brow begins to form. "Sylvain, what else matches?"

He tilts his head in confusion before humming in thought. "The sky?" He responds, and it sounds more like a question than a statement. She nods slowly.

"What about… Your hair? Does that match?" He giggles and shakes his head. "What matches your hair, then?"

He lifts up one leg, shaking it. "My shoes!" He laughs, and sure enough, his shoes are a similar orange color. His mother nods again, frowning slightly.

"Did you meet someone new recently?" She asks him, and he shakes his head, somewhat at a loss. "How long have you been able to see what matches?" His brows furrowed as he thinks about the question.

"... Forever, maybe?" Sylvain guesses, unsure. His mother sucks in a breath. Just to be sure, she shows the boy the gems on her rings.

"Are these the same?" She asks him. One is a light pink, the other yellow. To most kids his age, they would answer yes.

"No." It’s a confident answer.

She nods at his response. "I see." She stands up and tells him that she must talk to his father, but that he can continue playing, leaving him standing in the field, puzzled.

Later, his mother and father sit him down to explain the concept of soulmates.

_ "Soulmates are 2 halves of one whole," his mother explains. "When one meets their soulmate, their world bursts into color. Before that, everything is black and white." _

_ "What is color?" _

_ "Color is what makes things match, just like you showed me. Your hair and your boots are the same color: orange." Sylvain nods. _

_ His father cuts in. "You don't have the time to be worrying about trivial things like soulmates, Sylvain. You are a noble. You should feel lucky you aren't letting someone down by marrying another, as you don't have a soulmate." Sylvain's mother looks at the margrave with a hint of remorse, but quickly smiles at Sylvain. _

_ "When you're older we will find a nice woman for you to marry, okay?" _

_ Sylvain nods, but something doesn't seem right about this conversation. _

-

Sylvain is in the middle of reading when there's a knock at the door. He hops off his bed to see who it is, and finds Felix on the other side, tears streaming down his face. It's not an uncommon occurrence, for Felix to come to Sylvain crying, but it’s still a bit unexpected.

"Felix, what's wrong?" The boy tackles him into a hug and sniffs into his chest, wiping snot and tears all over his shirt, but Sylvain doesn't really mind. He cards his fingers through the five year old's hair.

"D-Dimitri was being mean!"

"What did he do?" Sylvain asks him. Felix sniffs.

"He said I can't become a knight like Glenn if I can't beat him in a fight!"

“Beat Dimitri or Glenn?” Felix is about to answer before Sylvain shakes his head and interrupts. “Actually, it doesn’t matter.” Sylvain picks up Felix and wobbles over to his bed with him, setting him on the mattress before flopping down with a giggle. “I think you can do it!”

Felix rubs an eye and tilts his head in confusion. “Huh?”

“Become a knight, just like Glenn!” Sylvain smiles at him. “It doesn’t matter if you can’t beat him!”

Felix’s lips wobble. “But how am I supposed to protect him if I can’t even win against him?” _ Ah, so it was Dimitri _.

Sylvain hummed. “Then you just gotta train real hard, right? If you train a lot you can beat him!” Felix blinks, as if he hadn’t even thought about that. “You already train hard, so I’m sure you can win pretty soon!”  
  
“You think?” Felix looks up at him, eyes wide, and Sylvain nods.

“I know!” Felix gives a small giggle at that.

“Oh… Thank you, Sylvain…” He mumbles, and flops next to the redhead. “Hey, Sylvain?”

“What is it?”

“What are you reading?” He points to the book abandoned on Sylvain’s nightstand, open face down to keep the page. Sylvain smiles and crawls over to grab it.

“Oh! It’s a book about soulmates!” He shows Felix the cover. It has pictures of couples holding hands on the front.

“Soulmates?” Sylvain gasps and his grin widens.

“You’ve never heard of them?” Felix shakes his head. “They’re amazing… A soulmate is the person you’re gonna be with forever!”  
  
“Do I have a soulmate?”

“Yeah! Everyone has a soulmate! I have one too!” Felix smiles softly.

“Can you tell me more?” Sylvain nods quickly.

“Of course! I can read this to you, if you want!” He holds up the book.

“Okay. I like when you read,” Felix nods, and crawls next to Sylvain to look at the book with him as he begins to read.

-

“But you and Glenn aren’t even soulmates!”

“I don’t care! I still love him!”

Dimitri tries to cut in between their bickering. “Father says that most nobles don’t marry their soulmate...”

Sylvain ignores him. “How do you know what love is? You’re not even nine yet!”

Ingrid shoves him with an indignant huff. “And you do?” Sylvain pouts and crosses his arms.  
  
“Maybe not, but at least I’m not gonna leave my soulmate alone!” He argues, and Ingrid responds with another shove, this time with enough force to knock Sylvain down onto the ground. He lands on his bottom, a small “ow” escaping his lips. He looks up at Ingrid, who’s starting to sniffle. “Ingr-”

“Why are you being so mean?” Sylvain has the decency to look guilty. “Do you hate Glenn?” Felix, who had been playing with the ground nearby, knees tucked to his chest as he listened to their squabble with little interest, looks up. He glances at Sylvain.

“No, of course n-”

“What’s your problem, then?” Ingrid crosses her arms, though she looks more upset than angry with the way tears are falling down her cheeks. Dimitri, unsure what to do, steps back and looks at Sylvain. All three of them are waiting for his answer. He stands up slowly, feeling awkward under the pressure of their gaze.

Sylvain swallows. “I just- What about your soulmate? What about Glenn’s soulmate? What are you gonna do if you meet them, but you’re already married to each other? They never get a choice to be with you,” he says nervously. He knows in the back of his mind that realistically, none of them have much choice in who they marry. But he didn’t think it was right that Ingrid could just throw away the idea of having a soulmate like that. 

Ingrid frowns and looks at the ground. There’s a moment before she responds. “Father says I don’t have a choice,” she starts. “But that doesn’t mean Glenn doesn’t deserve love, so I’m gonna give it to him anyway.” She wipes her eyes. “I didn’t mean that I don’t care about my soulmate. I just don’t want to think about them too much.”

“Oh.” Sylvain rubs the back of his neck. It's somewhat of a nervous habit of his. “I’m sorry, Ingrid. For yelling at you, and stuff.” He wasn’t exactly sure why he got so worked up about it in the first place, but now he just feels bad for making her cry.

“It’s okay,” she sniffs, before punching his arm lightly. “That’s for making me cry. I hate crying.”

-

The clouds, heavy with unspilled rain, loom overhead, blanketing the sky in darkness.

Quite fitting for the mood in the air.

Sylvain stands with an umbrella, a few steps behind Felix, who's looking down at the new grave on the Fraldarius estate. The service has long since ended, but Felix hadn't been there anyway. Neither of them say anything, and Sylvain almost leaves to give him some privacy, but he thinks better of it.

If Felix wanted him gone, he would have said so by now. But he's too reclusive to tell him to stay, so he says nothing.

A drop falls on Sylvain's cheek and he looks up. Another falls on his forehead. Then one more on his chin. He opens the umbrella.

Felix doesn't seem to notice the raindrops. If he does, he ignores them. But the rain is picking up too fast for Sylvain to stand by and let him sit there getting wet, so he steps forward to stand next to the boy, holding the umbrella over them both.

After a moment, he speaks up softly. "You should head inside."

"Mm."

It's quiet, except for the gentle thumps of the rain hitting the umbrella.

"It's going to get cold."

"So it is." Sylvain frowns.

"Felix," he calls quietly. "Let's go inside." Felix doesn't move. Neither does Sylvain.

"Sylvain."

"Hm?"

"You won't leave me, right?" Sylvain glances down at the younger's face. His eyes are red with unshed tears. Sylvain almost hugs him right there.

"Of course I won't leave you, Felix." And he means it.

"You promise?" Felix looks up at him.

"I promise. The day I leave you behind is the day I die." Felix grabs his arm and shakes his head.

"No. You can't die. Not without me," he says, and his voice trembles slightly.

"Then… Let's make a promise. We'll stay together until we die together." Immediately after he says this, he regrets it, somewhat. Not because he doesn't mean it, because he _ does. _ But that's exactly why he wants to take it back. It's a big promise for someone who should really stay with their _ soulmate _ until they die. He's about to apologize, when Felix responds.

"Okay. I promise." Sylvain blinks.

"Wait, really?"

Felix shoots him a look. "Were you joking?"

"No, no! Of course not!" Sylvain frantically answers. "I was just… Surprised, is all. Thought you might rather die with your soulmate." Felix rolls his eyes.

"I don't even…" He stops. "I've never cared about soulmates," he says instead, and as if remembering, he adds "Just because I think the system is flimsy. Glenn didn't even meet his soulmate before…" He trails off. "At least, if he did, he never told me about them. Besides, I think it's foolish to think there's a single person out there that's truly meant for you. And that you have no say in the matter."

Sylvain looks at him pointedly. "It's _ romantic _, Felix." Felix shrugs. "But I guess you have a point." He holds out his hand, pinkie outstretched. Felix looks at it blankly before wrapping his own pinkie around Sylvain's. They stay there for a moment, pinkies entwined, before Felix retracts.

"We should go inside," he mumbles.

"That's what I've been saying!" Felix elbows him lightly before turning to walk back towards the house, Sylvain following with the umbrella.

"Thanks, Sylvain."

"What for?"

"Staying here, with me."

-

"So," Sylvain begins, smirk on his face. "You found your soulmate, huh?" It's barely the first week since they've arrived at the Officer's Academy, and already two of Sylvain's closest friends have found their other halves.

Ingrid blushes and rubs her arm. "Yes. He's… Kind." Sylvain smiles.

"I'm happy for you. You deserve someone like that, you know," He says, patting her on the shoulder. She brushes his hand off.

"Thank you… Sylvain."

There's a moment of comfortable silence before Ingrid seems to remember something. "Speaking of soulmates…" She looks up at him, brows furrowed. Sylvain nods, urging for her to continue, although from the look on her face, he can guess where this conversation is going. "What happened to you? You don't seem to care at all about your soulmate anymore," she prods, raising an eyebrow.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"In fact, you don't seem to care about anyone anymore..." Sylvain winces. "Now that I think about it… You went off on me about how I was fine marrying Glenn without any thought for my soulmate, and yet look at you now! Every day I see you with a different woman!"

"Wait, are you talking about that argument we had years ago?" Sylvain holds up his arms as if to stop Ingrid in order to backtrack. "Ingrid. I don't really want to talk about this right now."

"Yes, I'm talking about the argument! You were upset that I didn't seem to care at all that I wasn't marrying my soulmate!"

"Wait- Hold up, I think yo-"

"What happened to 'not leaving my soulmate alone,' huh?" Ingrid sticks a finger to his chest and Sylvain frowns. "That was what you were angry with me about, wasn't it?"

"Ingrid." His voice is cold. "That was years ago. I think you might be overreacting. I came here to congratulate you on finding your soulmate, not to be scolded like some child."

"Are you saying that your feelings have changed since then?" She's ignoring him. "You suddenly don't care about how your soulmate would feel if you met after you get married?" She's drilling her finger into his sternum at this point. "Because that's what it looks like, Sylvain." Sylvain glares at her.

"So, now that you've found your soulmate, you think it's suddenly alright to lecture me on the way I should act? You're the expert now, huh?" He's seething, and deep inside he knows she doesn't fully understand his side, but he can't stop his pent up anger from spilling out. This was a conversation Sylvain should've have with someone a long time ago.

"I'm saying _you're being a_ _hypocrite_, Sylvain!" She's yelling at him now. "You could at least act like you care!"

"And _ I'm _saying I don't want to talk about this right now!" He turns to leave, but she grabs his hand.

"Don't you _ dare _walk away from this conversation, Sylvain."

"You aren't my mother, Ingrid! Now leave me alone! You don't know what you're talking about!" He grabs her hand to remove it.

"What exactly do you hope to achieve by flirting with all these girls, Sylvain? What's gonna happen if you find your soulmate and another girl's arm is around yours? You're going to miss your chance, Sylvain, that's what's going to happen."

"I _ never had a chance to begin with _, Ingrid!"

There's a long bout of silence. Ingrid stares at him, a hint of confusion on her anger-ridden face. Sylvain drops her hand.

"I don't have a soulmate," he admits quietly.

The anger is falling from the blonde's face. "You don't- What do you mean you don't have a soulmate?"

He laughs, but it's hollow. "I've been able to see colors for as long as I can remember," he starts to explain, and he looks down at his hands. "I thought it was cool at first. I was able to see things that most kids my age couldn't even imagine." Ingrid is listening silently. "When I got older, I realized I didn't remember when I started to see them, though. Which meant either of two things."

He shrugs, and meets Ingrid's eyes. "Either I never had a soulmate from the start," he says, pausing. "Or I missed my chance a long time ago."

Ingrid bites her lip. "That's… I didn't even know that was possible…"

"Yeah." Sylvain runs a hand down the side of his face. "Isn't it funny?" He gives her a weak smile. "I'm a noble with a crest and no soulmate. I guess love just isn't for me."

"Sylvain…"

"I'm sorry. You don't want to hear me complain." Ingrid's eyes widen.

"Sylvain, I just berated you for something you couldn't even help, why are _ you _ apologizing?" She grabs his arm and squeezes softly. "I'm sorry. You can complain all you want. I'll listen. I should have before. We're friends, Sylvain, and I think you need someone to talk to."

Sylvain's eyes are watering. Maybe he does need someone to talk to.

_ “Back when we had that argument about soulmates,” he whispers, wringing his hands, “I was upset you didn’t seem to care at all. But I didn’t even know why, at first.” _

_ “And now?” _

_ “I think I was jealous. I didn’t have a soulmate and you did. But they didn’t matter to you. I thought you were being so selfish. It was like you were taking it for granted.” _

-

“Hey, Felix!” There’s a sigh from the teen as he turns around, sword still in his hand. There’s a scowl on his face, but that doesn’t deter Sylvain whatsoever.

“What’s so important that you interrupt me from my training?” He hisses, and Sylvain laughs. That only further deepens the crease between Felix’s brows.

“I was just wondering if we could spar?” Felix raises an eyebrow.

“You? Train? Am I hallucinating? Are you sick?” Sylvain pouts and folds his hands behind his head.

“What, is it so hard to believe I just want to spend some quality time with my dear old friend?”  
  
“ _ Yes. _”

Sylvain sighs and shakes his head. “So cruel, Felix, really!” Then he shrugs and grabs a training sword from the rack. “I didn’t hear a ‘no,’ though. How about it?” He wiggles the sword, testing its feel in his hand. Felix rolls his eyes.

“Fine, but don’t go crying when I beat you up.” Sylvain laughs.

“That was your thing, remember?” Felix grits his teeth, and without warning, charges Sylvain. “Woah, woah! Could maybe use a ‘ready, go,” don’t you think?” He yelps, managing to block and parry Felix’s swing.

“There’s no ‘ready, go’ in real fights!” Felix swings again, unrelenting.

Sylvain is on the ground in record time. Felix stands over him, sword pointed to his throat. “That was absolutely pathetic,” he growls.

“How kind, Felix!” The redhead laughs and Felix knocks him lightly on the cheek with the sword.

“This isn’t a _ joke, _Sylvain! I’ve seen you fight better than that even on your worst days!”

“Aww, is that a compliment?” Felix grabs him by the lapels and pulls him to his feet, although with some difficulty—_ curse Sylvain for being so much bigger than him. _

“Don’t fucking ignore me, Gautier! What’s going on?!” Sylvain shrugs and Felix lets him go with a huff, shoving him away. “You weren’t even trying to avoid my swings half the time. It’s like you were _ trying _ to get hit.” Sylvain goes silent. Felix’s eyes widen. “You-... You’re supposed to disagree with that, moron.”

Sylvain brushes a hand through his hair and give Felix a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes _ at all _. “I won’t do it again,” he replies quietly. “Sorry.”

“Don’t give me that bullshit,” Felix snarls. "Tell me what's going on inside that stupid pea-sized brain of yours." Usually Sylvain would brag about how he 'knew Felix cared,' but he stays silent for a moment.

"Not feeling too good today," he admits, and rubs the back of his neck. Felix picks up Sylvain's training sword from where he had haphazardly tossed it when he had fallen, then puts both it and his own sword on the rack. "Sorry I got you mixed up in this."

"Whatever."

"I'll pay you back later. We can spar for real, or something?" He offers, and Felix shrugs.

"We can go eat, for now," Felix grumbles. Sylvain let's out a soft "oh," and follows him out of the training grounds. "You don't have to talk, if you don't want to."

Sylvain gives him a small smile. "Thanks, Felix."

"Whatever. I won't do this again."

-

"Sylvain!" He flinches at the slam of the door and looks up, finding Felix standing in the doorway, brows furrowed with rage. The old door frame rattles precariously, and Sylvain mentally reminds himself to tell the professor to add that to the long list of repairs that need to be done.

"Hey there, Felix, what's up?" He smiles. Felix does not smile back. In fact, that seems to only further his scowl.

"What was that?"

"Huh?"

"What _ was _ that, back there?" He stomps over to the side of the bed Sylvain lies in. Sylvain blinks. "Don't play dumb, Gautier. _ Back during the last battle! _" His hands are twitching, and he looks as though he wants to strangle Sylvain.

Sylvain rolls his eyes. "I was protecting you, obviously. Better me get a little hurt than you dying, right?" At that, Felix does grab Sylvain. His hand grips Sylvain's wrist so hard his knuckles turn white.

"A _ stab wound _ is not 'a little hurt,' idiot!"

"Hey, hey, I'm fine now, aren't I?" Sylvain winces. "Felix, you're hurting me." His grip loosens, but he doesn't let go.

"I don't need protecting."

"I know."

"Then _ why the fuck _did you do that?"

"I wanted to. I knew what I was doing when I ran in front of that soldier. Your back was to him, there was no way you wouldn't have been hurt significantly more than I did." Felix huffs.

"Don't do it again."

"I can't promise that," Sylvain laughs. "I'd take a hit for you any day of my life, Felix."

Felix grits his teeth and the grip on Sylvain's wrist tightens once more. "You-! Why?!"

"Felix," Sylvain looks at him, smiling. Before he can even register what’s passing through his lips, he answers truthfully. "I think I'm in love with you." Felix lets go, eyes wide, mouth agape.

"Wh-"

Sylvain's smile falls, realizing what he said. "Sorry. Forget that." Sylvain covers his eyes with a forearm. "I didn't mean to say that out loud. Please forget I said anything." Felix quietly pulls up a chair next to the bed.

"You think you're in love with me…?"

"Felix, _ please, _" Sylvain's voice cracks.

"What… What about your-"

"I don't have one." Felix blinks.

"Oh." There's a moment of quiet. "Me neither."

At that, Sylvain's arm falls. "Wait, you-"

Felix interrupts him before he can ask any questions. "I think- I… Uh… I'm..." He flushes to the tips of his ears. Sylvain thinks he looks beautiful. Felix throws away what he was going to say in favor of grabbing Sylvain's hand. There's a moment where they just sit there, Sylvain waiting patiently, until Felix's fingers entwine gently with Sylvain's own, and the redhead's eyes widen. The look on Felix's face says it all.

"Oh." Now Sylvain's cheeks feel a bit warm. "Felix."

"Hm?"

"Can I kiss you?" Felix manages to turn redder at that, but he nods. Sylvain reaches up with his free hand to thread his fingers in his hair and gently tugs him down. They meet in the middle, eyes falling closed and lips brushing for just a second. Felix could feel Sylvain's smile. "I'm a bit glad I don't have a soulmate right now," Sylvain says quietly. "If only because I get to fall in love with you." He opens his eyes to look at Felix, finding the other staring back at him. "Is that selfish?"

"If it is then..." Felix glances away, embarrassed. "Then I must be selfish, too."

Sylvain laughs softly at that, and pulls him back in.

-

"_ Too slow! _"

Another one falls. Felix huffs and spins around at the rustle that comes from behind him. He draws his sword into a defensive position, he doesn't know whether it's friend or foe.

It's foe. There's a loud _ clang _ as axe meets sword, and Felix twists out of the way to stab the enemy. Another one falls. Felix looks around. There doesn't seem to be any enemies in the area left, but he never lets his guard down. He runs off in search of the rest of the group.

He doesn't notice it at first. It's subtle, after all.

Then, his step stutters as he passes a group of bodies, and the first thing he notices is that the blood isn't as bright as he remembers blood being. And Felix has seen a lot of blood.

The grass isn't as green either. Nor are the trees.

Felix's eyes widen. He's heard of this phenomenon. _ But that can't be. _

_ He doesn't have a- _

He continues running. He's in the middle of pushing these worrisome new notions to the back of his mind when suddenly all of his thoughts come to a halt at once as he recognizes a very large figure.

That's Sylvain's wyvern.

_ Where is Sylvain? _

The wyvern is pacing and screeching, switching frantically between flying and trampling the earth beneath its clawed limbs. Something is wrong. Felix sprints over to the beast, and when it recognizes him, it screeches and headbutts him pitifully.

"Where is he?!" He desperately scrambles up onto the mount and it takes to the sky. Felix hates flying, but _ Sylvain is missing _ and Felix's colors are still fading, although slowly, and there's a sinking feeling in his chest when the thought comes to Felix's mind that _ what if they're connected _?

They don't fly very long, and Felix is already jumping off the wyvern before it has even finished landing. There's a body on the ground. Multiple, actually. But only one he recognizes, and only one that matters.

And there's a javelin straight through his abdomen.

"_ Sylvain _ !" At the sound of his voice, the body moans. There's blood _ everywhere _. Felix runs so fast he nearly trips, and slides to his knees when he reaches the redhead's side.

Felix already has his weak healing spells at his fingertips as he checks the damage. There are scratches up and down Sylvain's armor and a few gashes on his cheek and hands, but the worst is the wound on his stomach, where the javelin rests, right where his armor opens up. Looking at it closer, Felix notes that the weapon had not, thankfully, gone straight through him, although it was definitely very bad. Felix commands the wyvern to head towards where he knows is the center of their formation, and the wyvern flies off. Felix thanks whatever deity is up there that wyverns are smart creatures.

"Sylvain!" There's another moan, and the older boy's eyes flutter weakly open.

"Oh… Felix…" Sylvain manages to mumble, before he hisses through his teeth. There are tears starting to collect in his eyes.

"Shut up! _ Shut up! _ What did you _ do _?!" Felix's hands are shaking, unsure of what he should do about the javelin. His healing magic is far too weak to have a significant effect on the injury. Pulling it out would mean immediate death, certainly. And he can't move Sylvain, lest he jostle the weapon and make it worse.

"Felix… I'm sorry…" Sylvain croaks out from beneath him, and now Felix's vision is starting to blur.

"I told you to shut up! Don't waste your energy you fucking imbecile!"

"I might... " Sylvain gasps, head falling to the side limply and his eyebrows knit together in pain. "I might end up breaking our promise…"

"No. You are not going to fucking die on me, Gautier. You can't die, remember? Not without me." There's not much color in his vision. Felix's hand clenches and unclenches and he takes a deep breath to calm himself, trying to remember what to do. He draws a sword from his belt and begins to carefully saw the javelin short. Every so often he heals the opening of the wound, trying to keep it closed where the javelin enters his abdomen.

Sylvain's breath is slow and weak. His eyelids are drooping. "Don't close your eyes," Felix tells him. They obediently stay halfway open.

There's sweat forming on Felix's brow as he returns to sawing the javelin. It finally splits, and Felix gives a short sigh of relief. He focuses on healing the wound again. Sylvain mumbles something, and makes a weak attempt to grab Felix's attire.

"-lix… H-Hurts…" Felix nods. A tear falls down Sylvain's cheek.

"I know." He mutters. "Don't die on me." Sylvain gives him a weak smile.

The sound of horse's hooves and a wyvern screech is music to Felix's ears.

Mercedes is here.

Felix's vision maintains a steady toned color.

Felix is next to Sylvain when he wakes for the first time. His hands are wrapped around one of Sylvain's, and his head rests on Sylvain's blanketed thigh. Sylvain gives a weak squeeze and he looks out the window. It's dark. He's thirsty. He doesn't want to wake Felix, though.

Luckily, Mercedes comes in the room with a couple of boxes, likely medicine. When she realizes Sylvain is awake, her eyes widen a fraction and she smiles. He returns the smile.

"Mercedes…" His voice is hoarse.

"Good to see you awake, Sylvain. Need something?"

"...Water?" He asks, and she nods. Sylvain shifts back to look at the man resting on his bed. There are deep bags under his eyes, and his hair isn't in its usual ponytail. Sylvain rubs his thumb against Felix's fingers and closes his eyes for a moment, while he waits for Mercedes.

When she comes back with the water he thanks her and takes a couple sips. It feels soothing on his dry throat.

"How long have I been out?"

"Two days." Mercedes glances at Felix. "I haven't been able to get him to leave the entire time," she laughs softly. There's a grumble from Felix and he shifts, lifting himself off of Sylvain's thigh. Sylvain laughs quietly, because the sheets have left wrinkles on the half of his face he'd been lying on. At the noise, Felix wakes up quickly. Mercedes gives Sylvain a smile and a wave before exiting the room and shutting the door behind her.

Felix is almost fully awake at this point. Sylvain squeezes his hand again. "Hey, Felix. Sorry for waking you." Felix squeezes his hand back. He stays quiet for awhile.

"You're an idiot."

"I know." Sylvain sighs and looks out the window again. "I thought I was dying back there," he admits quietly.

"You were." Sylvain blinks.

"Huh?"

"You were. Dying, that is." Felix finishes faintly.

"Oh." Sylvain sighs. "But you saved me." Felix doesn't respond. Sylvain pulls their joined hands up and plants a kiss to the back of one of Felix's.

"Sylvain."

"Hm?"

"I think," he looks away. "I think we're soulmates." Sylvain's eyes widen.

"What do you-"

"You were _ dying _, Sylvain." Felix's grip on Sylvain's hand tightens.

Suddenly Sylvain understands. "Oh."

"Yeah. Oh."

“You?” He whispers, voice laced with uncertainty.

“Me.”

"Oh." Sylvain repeats, then he laughs softly, and _ wow, his eyes feel hot _. “It’s been you all along.” He laughs again, sniffing, and brings an arm over his eyes. "We're idiots."

Felix shrugs. There are tears streaming down Sylvain's face now. "Why are you crying, idiot?"

"I'm happy," Sylvain smiles, tears continuing to fall. "I'm so happy. I thought I-… It's been you this whole time, you've been in front of my eyes my entire life," he rambles, before gasping and sitting up suddenly. A mistake, because he's still injured, and he cries out in pain. Felix glares at him.

"What are you doing?!" It sounds angry, but Sylvain can hear a worried undertone.

"Felix," Sylvain huffs. "You've been in front of my eyes my entire life," he repeats. His eyes are blown wide like he's just been revealed the secrets of the universe. Felix looks at him like he's crazy.

Felix raises an eyebrow. "Yeah? What are you getting at?"

"Do you remember when we met?" Felix huffs and rolls his eyes. It's a stupid question with an obvious answer.

"No, of course not, I was a baby, stu-" Felix stops mid-sentence as he registers what he's saying. He understands what Sylvain is implying now. "Oh." Sylvain laughs, although it hurts a bit.

"My mother once told me that when we met we both cried for hours," Sylvain says, lying back down. He's looking at their interlocked hands with a glimmer in his eye. "It makes sense now. Everything does." Felix give a hum in response.

"Hey Felix?"

"Hm?"

"Doesn't it feel like we fell in love without the help of fate’s hand, or whatever?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, even though we didn't know we were soulmates, we fell in love. It feels more real, less like an arranged marriage made by the goddess."

"I thought you liked the idea of soulmates."

"When I was a kid, I did," he nods. "And now, I think I'm warming up to it again. Because my soulmate is you." He gives Felix a smile that sends a flush running to his ears.

"You're a sap."

"Maybe. But you love me." Sylvain squeezes his hand. Felix reciprocates.

"...Yeah. I do."


End file.
